The International Bank Note Society (IBNS) announced the 1,000-franc note as winner of the IBNS Bank Note of 2006, awarded to the finest banknote issued in 2006. The banknote was issued by the central bank of the Comoros, an archipelago located between Madagascar and the east coast of southern Africa.

The IBNS Bank Note of the Year is awarded to the banknote which has a high level of artistic merit, an imaginative design. The Comoran 1,000-franc note has an innovative design, well-balanced color, and sensible use of modern security features.

The front of the 1,000-franc note is dominated by a coelacanth, a pre-historic fish long thought to be extinct, that was found living in the waters off the Comoros in recent years. Below the piscine curiosity is an aerial view of several islands that make up the country. Predominantly blue, there are red and green elements to the design on the front of the note.

The back of the award-winning note is dominated by a Comoran man in a canoe, surrounded by red and blue designs of differing character. While the name of the issuing authority is in Arabic on the back of the note, the warning to counterfeiters is in French.

Image Courtesy: theibns.org